When a person’s thoughts start to stray, they can tend to go in one of two directions. Sometimes people find themselves dreaming of an upcoming vacation or looking forward to a get-together with friends . . . . . . or, maybe they’re distracted by worries about approaching deadlines or unpaid bills. Even though the…

To test this theory, Willem Kuyken, PhD, and his team at Oxford University, first needed to come up with a safe and ethical protocol for working with participants having a history of depression. You see, it wouldn’t be either ethical or safe to randomly select some people and ask them not to take their medications…

Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in relieving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and even chronic pain. But how does that happen? The other day, I told you about a study that looked at how mindfulness can change the anxious brain. As it turns out, scientists have confirmed another brain connection, with a surprising twist….

Many of the mindfulness studies that I come across examine either healthy volunteers or patients who have severe clinical conditions. But what about people whose symptoms fall somewhere in between? Could mindfulness practice be effective with them too? That’s why this recent research study done by Wendy Pots, DClinPsych from the University of Twente (Netherlands),…

Some degree of fear and anxiety is inevitable in life. But for some people, these emotions can become truly debilitating, keeping them trapped in cycles that can lead to depression and even chronic pain. So how can we help patients better manage fear and anxiety when they come up? Below, you’ll find a simple exercise…

I’m always interested to see the deep and lasting changes that can come from a regular meditation regimen… …especially when those changes can be measured on a physical level. Meditation has long been touted as a go-to source for stress reduction, and in recent years, researchers have been compiling evidence to back up those claims,…